Steve Jobs...A Lesson in Life

Steve Jobs...

Everyone has heard of him he is the guy who started Apple in a garage when he was 20 years old. Steve Jobs life holds a lesson for us all. Attached to this post is a link to the commencement speech he gave at Stanford University in 2005( http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html ).
In that speech he outlines his startup with Apple and talks of building the company only to be voted out 10 years later when it was worth $2 billion.

Obviously it was a very public story and he was a 30 year old man who was released from power of a company that he built. Steve went on to develop a company called NexT and also Pixar (they created the first fully animated movie Toy Story). To make a long story short Apple eventually bought NexT and Steve was once again a part of one the company that he originally started.

Now I know that this is a leadership blog and you may be asking yourself why I am writing about Steve Jobs. Well in a nut shell Steve Jobs survived because he was doing what he loved to do. I know that he was absolutely devastated when he was dismissed from Apple. I know that he went through a tough period trying to find his way. I also know that what he achieved was because Steve Jobs is a man with a very clear vision of what he expects of himself.

He expected to achieve success again. He expected that his dreams were worth pursuing. He trusted his instinct. He understood what he loved to do and was able to communicate that vision to the people around him. He never gave up on himself or his ideas and it worked.

When you know what you stand for, can share that vision, and have unwavering faith in what you believe to be true, then you can achieve these kind of results. We can all follow Steve Jobs example that I consider to be a "Lesson in Life":  "In the last days of my life I will not be concerned with how much money I have or how the masses stand in judgement of me. I will want to take my last breath knowing that I lived my dream and was able to help others to know that they did the same for themselves."

Face Time

One of the most challenging of all activities when you are a leader is quality FACE TIME with your peeps. They need it more than you know. They need it more than they know. You both need it so that you both grow.

Most people tend to run their business day-to-day. That is to say that although people may have an idea of what they would like to do with their day, it is typical for people to react to the business at hand. That means that they constantly find themselves putting thing on the back burner to "get to later" because they run out of time. Which brings me to my point. Face time is essential for your people. They need to know that you care about them. It is the one thing that is put aside until later that will make the most impact on your business.

When people feel valued they tend to work better, harder, and smarter. They are less timid about sharing ideas and pushing themselves to move further. Not giving them face time is a critical mistake that you cannot take back. You may catch up to them later but you are giving up value for convenience when you do.

Spend some time evaluating your day. Dedicate some time to your people. You can schedule it or you can do it on the fly. They only thing that I would like for you to remember is that each time you interact with them is an opportunity to ad value to their day, to give them confidence, to inspire them, or even just to make them feel appreciated.

Acknowledge your people - gain their respect - GIVE THEM YOUR TIME!

Thats all for today
Thanks

Truth in Leadership

I have spoken of it before and the time is here to speak of it again. Truth in Leadership is not just a concept. It is not vague, there are no grey areas. People often under estimate the ability of even the simplest minds to know when they are not being told the truth. People have a built in B.S. meter and they are quite able to know it is going off. Everytime it does they lose a little respect, a little piece of what your credibility goes away. Here is the interesting thing about that. You never get it back. People do not forget being lied to. It is just the same as stealing from them or spreading rumors about them or any other act that will tear at their dignity.

I know that this sounds silly to read. I also know that everyone who reads this can relate to what I am talking about. We have all had discussions in our past with people who were supposed to be our "Leaders" that left us with a feeling like we had just been decieved. We felt humiliated and we did not forget it. Guess what, your people won't either!

At any rate this is just a quick little snippet for today about a topic I think cannot be talked about enough...
Use it - Remember it - or ignore it if you like....but don't say I didn't warn you!

Thanks for Reading
Carl Frost

We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by the heart.
                                                 Blaise Pascal